‘I’m a Citizen of the World’

The fool has said, “I am a citizen of the world!”

Of course, as fools do, he adjusts the meaning of the word, “citizen” to suit his globalist fantasy. But in the end, even with altered word meanings, the fantasy of world citizenship is just as real as unicorns.

My dictionary first defines a citizen as a person owing loyalty to and entitled to the protection of a given state. A second definition is given as a resident of a city or town, especially one entitled to vote and enjoy other privileges there.

Let’s break that down:

1. loyalty to the world
2. the protection of the world
3. a resident of the world
4. possessing a world vote and other privileges

Let’s see…we can say that number 3 is a reality. The fool is indeed a resident of the world. But as for the rest, the idea of world citizenship is only a fanciful imagination, an endorphin-producing state of mind like the one brought on by singing We Are The World. It’s a construct of the brotherhood of Man without the context of the Lordship of Christ, a replay of the tower of Babel (Genesis 11:1-9).

In order for world citizenship to be a reality, a one-world government is required. What about the United Nations? First of all, not all of the countries in the world belong to the UN. Those holdout nations would certainly deny they had any responsibility or accountability to any “citizen” of the world. There is the matter of sovereignty to consider. In a one-world government, there can be no sovereignty, no citizenship.

Secondly, UN member nations represent every form of government there is. Some are representational, some are dictatorial. In America, we have a federal republic. Other nations claim to be democracies, some are oligarchies, some are monarchies, some theocracies and some are governed by little more than brutal, oppressive war lords. In that mix, there can be no realistic application of the concept of being “united”, which makes “loyalty” nothing more than a vague abstraction. There can be no universal protection and certainly no universal vote.

The heads of state of each nation appoint their own “representatives” to the United Nations. None of them are voted in. None of them can be held accountable by the people who live in their respective nations. The people have no recourse to what their so-called “representatives” do. They have no input, no choice, no vote.

The “democracy” practiced when the UN General Assembly votes, does not reach the peoples of the nations. At best, they can only consider themselves mere subjects of the authoritarians who have been appointed over them.

As for world protection, the UN is pitiful. Hotel Rwanda made that point clear. And that is pretty much the tip of the iceberg. In the real world, there is no such thing as a citizen of the world. It is a utopian pipe dream of fools.

On the other hand, I am a citizen of heaven. Let me break that down according to the same principles of citizenship applied above:

1. loyalty
2. protection
3. residency
4. the vote and other privileges

The kingdom of God is the kingdom of heaven. Jesus began his earthly ministry by preaching the kingdom of heaven is at hand. God is the King of heaven. As far as loyalty to him is concerned, when we accept the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross as payment for our sins, that is, when we receive Christ and believe in his name, we enter the kingdom of heaven in a privileged condition. We do that by being “born again” and becoming children of God (John 1:12). That makes us heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ (Romans 8:17). Ephesians 3:6 says, “This mystery is that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.”

As for protection, Psalm 119:114 calls God “my fortress and my shield”. Isaiah 41:13 says, “For I, the LORD your God, hold your right hand; it is I who say to you, ‘Fear not, I am the one who helps you.’” Philippians 4:13 says, “I can do all things through him [Jesus Christ] who strengthens me.” God has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5; Deuteronomy 31:6). Jesus said, “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever” (John 14:16). And, “you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you” (Acts 1:8).

As for residency, Philippians 3:20 says, “But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ,” and in John 14:2 Jesus said, “In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?” And even though we now live in this physical world, as citizens of heaven, in spirit we are already seated with Christ in heaven (Ephesians 2:6).

As for “the vote and other privileges”, consider all that has already been said and add to it, Revelation 5:10: “and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth.” God gives citizens of heaven the authority to rule the world. That’s more than just a vote. Though physical death represents an essential change (1 Corinthians 15:42-44) once a person has faith in Christ, he has already been born again and has passed into eternal life. For in John 17:3 Jesus prayed, “And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.”

“In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” – John 1:4-5

If you want to know more about what it means to know Christ and become a citizen of heaven, read the Bible, talk to a believer, go to church. Perhaps one day you will begin to understand, “…since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God” 1 Peter 1:23.

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Michael Day is a native Californian and a retired mailman, proud of the fact that while most of his friends were protesting the war in Viet Nam, he volunteered for the draft and served in combat with the U.S. Army Infantry. His diverse life experiences range from singing with the San Diego Opera to doing menial labor and being involved in church leadership for twenty five years. His blog, http://retiredday.wordpress.com, is an expression of his deep convictions concerning freedom and Biblical faith.

Michael Day

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